Abstract:
This qualitative study examined crisis communication strategies in the pharmaceutical
industry. Crisis communication is one of the relevant issues which has become area of
interest to many PR scholars but most of their studies focused on crisis
communication in the financial sectors. This points out a gap in the literature on the
peculiar strategies and approaches employed Pharmaceutical industries in Ghana
during crisis event. The study specifically focused on the 2013 crisis of Tobinco
Pharmaceutical Limited (TPL). This case study draws on Coombs’ situational crisis
communication theory and William Benoit’s image restoration theory to assess the
nature of crisis in TPL, the response strategies employed by the company and how
those response strategies were communicated by TPL. Interview and content analysis
were used for the study and the data collected were thematically analysed to get the
key issues raised by participants for the purpose of the study. The study revealed three
nature of crises: organisational, financial and natural crises. The study also discovered
denial, diminish and rebuilding response strategies used by TPL. Findings from the
study confirmed that TPL communicated the response strategies through open
communication, media engagement and apology to deal with the 2013 crisis events.
The study highlights the importance of rebuilding strategy during the events of crises
and the need to engage stakeholders and communicate the truth during crisis. The
study recommends that pharmaceutical industries should prioritise stakeholders’
engagement and make their institutions easily accessible to national crisis
management institutions.
Description:
A dissertation in the Department of Strategic Communication, School of
Communication and Media Studies, submitted to the,
School of Graduate Studies, in partial fulfilment
of the requirements for award of the
degree of Master of Philosophy
(Business Communication)
in the University of Education, Winneba
NOVEMBER, 2021